A/N: Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated again :( I've got so much uni work to do at the moment, but I break up for a month for easter on Friday, so I should have lots more time to update over the next few weeks. Plus, to try and make up for it, this chapter is super long (as I'm sure you'll see!)

Please please let me know what you think! I love hearing from you lovely guys :')

Anyway, yeah, please R+R and I'll update again ASAP :D

Thanks,

xoloveJBox


Chapter Eleven

Lydia had never been a particularly late sleeper- she was almost always the first one awake in the Braxton household, and they all knew that is was mostly down to the fact that her favourite time to surf was early in the morning, when it wasn't quite light, and the world was still quiet. So, when Heath knocked on her bedroom door and didn't hear a response, he was a little surprised, but in his current state of unabashed excitement, he didn't take much notice. Instead, he let himself in and padded quietly across the room, before launching himself onto the mattress, nearly catapulting his sister out the window.

"What do you want?" She whined sleepily as Heath chuckled to himself. "I swear to god, if there's no fire, or something equally as serious, I'm going to smash you."

"Bianca needs your help with something." Heath told her simply, with a casual shrug that made Lydia swear under her breath and throw the covers over her head.

"Well, get to it then, and leave me alone." She grumbled moodily. She'd been unexplainably tired lately, and the rude awakening wasn't particularly helpful.

"I need you to do it." Heath retorted, leaning forward and tickling her toes that peeked out from the bottom of the quilt- something he knew Lydia hated, and sure enough, she blindly swung out her arm and punched him, snatching her feet back under the shelter of the covers.

"Surely helping her out will get you back in her good books." Lydia snapped "Lord knows you need it right now."

"Actually," Heath smirked wryly "She needs you to help her get ready."

"Ready for what?" Lydia sighed impatiently, wishing her brother would go away so she could go back to sleep.

"For our wedding."

There was a long few seconds of silence as Lydia processed his words, and she lowered the quilt just enough for her to peer at him.

"What are you talking about?" She questioned curiously "Last time I heard, you guys weren't even talking."

"Yeah I know, but we sorted it out, and we're going ahead with the wedding. Today." Heath explained, and Lydia shot up quickly, a wide, hopeful grin started to spread onto her face.

"You'd better not be messing with me right now, Heath Braxton." She warned sincerely, though she wasn't as threatening as she would have usually been- she was far too excited at the idea of what Heath was telling her.

"As fun as that would be, I promise I'm not." Heath told her gently, and Lydia leapt from her bed, blustering around the room.

"How long do we have?" She asked hurriedly as she started to grab randomly at clothes in her wardrobe for something to put on until it was nearer the time to put her dress on.

"About 4 hours." Heath replied, glancing down at his watch with an almost apologetic expression.

"We can work with that," She assured him after a few seconds of deliberation "but it's absolutely not my turn to pick up Mum."

"Alright," Heath chuckled heartily, amused at his sister still bustling around the room "Maybe I'll send Kyle."

"Don't do that, that's mean. I'll sort it out, don't worry." She argued as she finished gathering up her things and crossed back over to her brother, leaning up on her tiptoes to press a quick kiss on his cheek "I'm happy for you big brother."

She let out another excited squeal and bounded happily from the room to shower.

A little over an hour later, Lydia, Bianca and Ricky shot each other knowing glances, each understanding what the others were feeling as they heard Cheryl Braxton's booming voice bouncing off the walls of the breezeway.

"...All I'm saying is that it wouldn't hurt you to vacuum your car every once in a while."

"I'll get right on that Mrs Braxton." Sam chimed in response, and as the two of them emerged into the little beach house, Lydia had to fight to stifle a laugh.

"Can I talk to you?" Cheryl barked at Bianca, and though Bianca looked a little scared, she nodded and the two of them went into the other room. Lydia still wasn't talking to Ricky-she was angry that she'd been the last one to know about what had happened in Melbourne, and she'd thought that the two of them were better friends-so when it was just the three of them, Ricky wandered off to see if Darcy needed any help getting ready.

"Your mother is a terrifying woman Lydia Braxton." Sam told her when he was sure she was out of earshot, a disgruntled look on his face.

"You're going to be a big, tough soldier, and you're scared of a little woman like my mother?" Lydia joked incredulously.

"I'm serious; she's scary."

"I know," Lydia deadpanned back "Why do you think I didn't pick her up?"

"You're mean." Sam pouted, feigning hurt.

"Yeah," Lydia agreed simply before a mischievous grin spread over her face "but you love me."

"You're alright, I guess." Sam replied easily "Come here," he said quietly, pulling her closer to him and pressing his lips gently to hers. It didn't last long, however, as Cheryl stomped out again. The two quickly stepped apart, trying to appear inconspicuous, but they weren't quiet quick enough.

"What are you two doing?" she questioned curiously.

"Nothing." Lydia answered without hesitating, trying to seem casual, though it didn't work.

"Whatever," Cheryl sighed "Now, where are my boys?"

She stalked past the two of them, and when she was gone, they both let out a breath they hadn't realised they were holding.

"I can't wait to be able to tell them," Lydia chuckled "then we don't have to keep hiding from everyone."

"Why don't we do it now?" Sam suggested earnestly "I mean, pretty much everyone that we'd want to know is here, in the house, right now. Let's just do it."

"I would love to, trust me," Lydia started conflictedly "but this is Heath and Bianca's day. They've been through so much, and they've waited so long for this; I just don't think it would be fair."

"Yeah, you're right," Sam relented begrudgingly "You're amazing, you know that?"

"I try," Lydia grinned playfully "Now, I need to go and save Kyle from my Mum, and you need to go and get ready."

"Alright," Sam answered, giving Lydia a quick, subtle peck on the cheek "I'll see you in a bit."

Lydia waited until he was gone before letting out a sigh. She wanted Sam to stay, but there was too much to do and barely enough time to do it so, without dwelling too much, she went into the house to relieve Kyle, and keep her other brothers from being driven insane by their mother.

The sun was shining warmly, and a light, pleasant breeze filled the air. Soft chatter, interjected unabashedly with tinkering laughter swirled around everyone, oblivious to Heath's nervous pacing. When everything was arranged as much as it could be, Lydia wondered almost aimlessly around, waiting for Sam. She spotted Brax and Ricky a little way ahead of her, and she didn't think too much of it until she noticed that they seemed to be arguing. She wandered over nosily, and although she only caught snippets of their conversation, it was enough to get the general gist. Lydia waited until Ricky stormed away before closing the gap between her and Brax, who let out a small sigh.

"You should cut her some slack," Lydia told her brother quietly when Ricky definitely was out of earshot "I'd have told Mum the exact same thing, and you know you would've too."

"You can talk," Brax scoffed back "You haven't spoken to her for over a week. You're not even mad at Heath anymore, and he's the one who did it in the first place."

"You know, you're right," Lydia sighed relentingly "I should apologize to her. If I do, will you be around to help me nurse my bruised ego?"

"You know I will." Brax laughed, giving his sister's shoulder a comforting squeeze. Lydia turned towards where Ricky was now standing, snapping a few photos, and took a deep, preparing breath before heading in the other woman's direction. She approached a little wearily, just in case Ricky decided she wanted to avoid her-not that Lydia would have blamed her-but Ricky simply shot Lydia a small smile and lowered the camera.

"Hi," Lydia greeted as casually as she dared "You look nice."

"Thanks," Ricky replied in a matching tone "So do you. Is Sam here?"

"Not yet, he'll be here soon though. He's giving Bianca away since her father can't come, and he grew up around her and April at Irene's." Lydia explained, looking down awkwardly at her feet before getting annoyed at herself-she'd never had a problem with speaking to Ricky before, and she didn't understand why she did now, so she decided to just bite the bullet and get it over with "Look, Rick, I'm sorry for being funny with you these last few days." She rambled quickly "It's just...I dunno. I guess I'm a little bit sick of my brothers treating me like a kid, and I'm not really used to it from you."

"I know Lyd, I'm sorry." Ricky apologized sincerely "I promised I wouldn't tell you, but they should have."

"How about we say we're even, and call it quits?" Lydia suggested hopefully, and Ricky grinned.

"That sounds good to me."

Though it was a rare occurrence for the two of them, Ricky and Lydia hugged, both certain that the awkwardness between them was gone, and Lydia had to admit, she felt a lot better for it. Now she could enjoy the day without anything niggling at the back of her mind, as it had for the past week. Now she just couldn't wait for Sam to arrive, so he could share in her good feelings.

"Heath," April called with a warm smile, interrupting them all "Your bride's here."

As the car pulled up, Lydia could all but see Heath's heart palpitating, but a wide, excited grin spread across his face. Lydia took her place between Darcy and Brax, and watched as Sam got out of the car and walked around to the other side to pull open Bianca's door. She stepped out, taking Sam's arm as she did, revealing the delicate, red lace dress that she'd adorned. She looked beautiful, and Lydia couldn't be happier. She'd never really considered the idea that her brothers were the marrying type, especially not Heath, but she was so glad to be proven wrong. She was even pleased that Casey had managed to convince their mother to come after all.

As Sam and Bianca walked past, all but floated, carried by the bliss of the moment they were living, Lydia could feel tears prickling at the back of her eyes, threatening to crack the tough shield the Braxton name provided. As a family, they'd been through a lot, and she was proud that something good was finally happening.

"Thanks mate," Heath beamed at Sam when the two of them reached where he was standing, waiting dutifully for his bride to be "I've got it from here."

Sam pecked a kiss on Bianca's cheek and walked over to Lydia, letting out a light chuckle at the tears streaming down his girlfriend's face, even though she was clearly trying to hide them. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, grinning down at her as she smiled warmly at him.

They watched the beautiful ceremony in a kind of peaceful, undisturbed bliss that most of the time, the Braxton family was unaccustomed to. Lydia was particularly, though pleasantly, awestricken when Heath recited his vows in Italian. It was a sweet gesture, and it did more to prove his dedication than most other things he could have done.

When it was finished, they all headed to the beach. Darcy walked between Sam and Lydia, the two of them swinging her along playfully.

"Where have Dad and Bianca gone?" Darcy asked innocently. Brax had already told where her brother and new sister-in-law had disappeared to, but Lydia wasn't too sure how to explain that to her niece. She looked at Sam, hoping for some help, but he only shrugged.

"I'm sure they won't be too long." Lydia told her simply, hoping it would be enough to keep Darcy from asking more questions. She was a naturally inquisitive kid, but Darcy seemed satisfied enough with the answer.

The party really started when Heath and Bianca arrived, not long after the sun had finished setting, and flaming torches lined the sand, illuminating the way for them all. When Heath had completed the first dance with Bianca, Lydia moved in for her turn, while Sam danced with Darcy and Brax with Bianca. After a while, Cheryl left with Darcy-not without eliciting some protests from the little girl, and the celebration continued straight into the early hours of the morning.

"I should go soon," Sam muttered tiredly in her ear as they swayed, pressed against each other, to the soft, quietening music that thrummed gently from the speakers "I have work tomorrow."

"I know the boss," Lydia smiled up at him "Maybe I could put in a good word for you."

"I'd appreciate that Miss Braxton," Sam chuckled, leaning down even closer "but I was thinking,; maybe we could both go soon. Together."

Wordlessly, Lydia stood up on her tip-toes and pressed a long, soft kiss to Sam's lips. When they pulled away, Sam looked around them nervously, making sure no one had seen.

"What are you doing?" he whispered "Do you want to get caught?"

"Well," Lydia smirked cheekily "My brothers are going to suspect something when I tell them we're spending the night together."

"Lydia Braxton," Sam gasped, pretending to be shocked "I hope you're not implying that I would be such a corrupting influence. I was simply suggesting that I drive you home and walk you to your door."

Lydia didn't even try to hide the hearty laugh that erupted from her chest, and she gave him playful nudge before they turned to seek out Lydia's brothers.

Hand in hand, the two of them wondered barefooted along the sand in a companionable silence, and when she spotted her Brax, Heath and Bianca sitting around one of the massive bonfires that had been erected for the occasion, she shot Sam a warm grin, and they headed in their direction. When they were a few paces away, Sam stopped and bought Lydia's hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles delicately, before letting her carry on towards her brothers alone.

"Hey," she greeted cheerfully, attracting their attention "have you had a good day?"

"It's been perfect," Bianca beamed "thank you so much for your help."

"It was worth it," Lydia assured her, nodding across at Heath "we finally have someone to keep this sook in line."

"Oi, less of that young lady," Heath chastised jokingly.

"Listen, I'm going to head back now," Lydia told her brothers, proceeding cautiously as she added "I'm going to go to Irene's, with Sam."

Brax and Heath shot each other a glance before Brax let out a sigh, unbeknownst to Lydia, faking irritancy.

"Is this the part where you finally tell us that you two are dating again?" he asked knowingly, a smirk breaking out over his face.

"Y...you knew?" she stammered, caught off guard.

"Please," Heath scoffed, amused "What kind of fools do you take us for?"

"I'm pretty sure you don't want me to answer that," Lydia grinned mischievously, a weight of stress lifting from her shoulders.

"Yeah, well, the usual rules apply, you understand." Brax warned seriously "I want a phone call, as soon as you wake up, to let me know the exact second that you are going to walking through our front door."

"Thank you!" Lydia exclaimed, giggling happily

"I'm not finished," Brax continued, and Lydia reigned herself in "When you do get home, I want to see you showered and dressed in clean clothes-I don't want you walking through the Bay in tonight's dress, like you're sneaking around."

"Got it," Lydia promised "Can we go now?"

"One last thing: the least he can do is get you breakfast in the morning. It's only gentlemanly."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you were really gentlemanly to girls when you were my age," Lydia chuckled, raising an eyebrow mischievously.

"Don't push it," Brax replied. His expression was stern for a moment, before softening and breaking into a grin "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes sir." Lydia finished, kissing her brother's cheek, and moving along, saying goodbye to Heath and Bianca too. When she was finished, she turned and hurried towards Sam, who offered his arm when she approached.

"Let's go," Lydia told him happily as they started to walk "I can't imagine anything this."

Unfortunately, although she didn't know it at the time, Lydia would only have to wait until the next morning to be proven wrong.